Evacuation Stories Day at Valamo Monastery on January 10, 2026
In the heart of January, Valamo Monastery invites you to stop and immerse yourself in evacuee stories – stories of losing your home, of traveling into the unknown, and of hope at the edge of a new beginning. The day offers touching performances, lectures and community moments in the unique environment of the monastery.
The day's program
12:00 p.m. Opportunity to participate in a church service in the monastery's main church
1:00 p.m. Opening of the day, Monastery director Archimandrite Mikael
After the opening, Home far away - songs and stories from the evacuation journey,music and story work
14:00 Valamo tea table in the Trapesa restaurant
15.00 Evacuated monks in Heinävesi lecture, FT Elsi Takala
at 16.00-16.30 The icy evacuation of the Valamo monks, documentary
Program price 25€/person
Reservations and further information:
Valamo monastery sales service
tel. 017 570 1810
myyntipalvelu@valamo.fi
Note! Limited places!
Home far away – songs and stories from the evacuation journey -music and story work
The evacuation journey of the Karelian immigrants was full of longing, fear and hope. Homes were left behind as families set off into the unknown, often with only a few belongings. Trains and horse-drawn carriages transported them across Finland, in cold and uncertainty – but they were also accompanied by a strong sense of community and faith in a new beginning.
The evacuation journeys of the Karelian migrants took place mainly during the Winter and Continuation Wars, i.e. between 1939 and 1944. The first major evacuation began with the outbreak of the Winter War in November 1939, and the second, even more extensive, took place with the end of the Continuation War in the autumn of 1944. As a result of the wars, over 420,000 Karelians had to leave their homes permanently.
The Home Far Away performance has collected true stories from the evacuation period by Karelians.
The performance relives the experiences of the evacuees through songs and stories and was jointly produced by Joensuu City Theatre and Museum Eliel.
In the roles
Suvi-Maaria Virta
Regina Launivuo
Jaakko Tohkanen
Eve Pietarinen, musician/performer
Voice roles
Timoi Munne
Pirkko Kurikka
Alexandra Launivuo
Faina Kukkonen
Scriptwriting and directing Maria Karhapää
The script is based on Faina Kukkonen's autobiographical poetry collection Tarinani and archive interviews and letters from the Eliel Museum.
Production Joensuu City Theatre and Eliel Museum
Photos Eveliina Salomaa and Maria Karhapää
Archive photo Eliel Museum
The Valamo monks' hyinen evacuee documentary
On the moonlit Christmas Eve of 1939, a group of men in long robes and long beards arrived at Kannonkoski. "There were a lot of goats for the children," people marveled.
The Valamo Monastery brotherhood, a hundred or so elderly Russian-speaking monks, had been evacuated from their monastery island to safety from the Winter War and brought to a small parish in central Finland, where they were accommodated in local schools. It was a culture shock for the evacuees, and a source of wonder and joy for the local residents.
"We spent a few days with them," Inkeri Tellikka recalls. “We made snowmen and went down the hill. Beards were curled as we went down the hill.”
The documentary film interviews children from Kannonkoski during the Winter War about their memories and follows the brotherhood’s adjustment to new circumstances.
Senja Nyström also takes us on a journey of reminiscence to old Valamo. “It was like a trip abroad today, but much better, you could feel anything and your sins were forgiven.”
Director
Esa Sironen
